Penetration resistance is a property that is desired in various environments and in various applications. Examples of such applications include providing structures that can withstand storm debris impacts, personal and vehicle armaments, etc. Understandably, the degree and nature of the penetration resistance performance is largely related to the use and construction of the underlying structure or vehicle as well as the ability of the structure, vehicle, or person to withstand the weight and forces associated with other considers related to movability and/or the underlying operation of the structures and/or vehicles with which they are supported and providing the desired degree of penetration resistance.
With respect to storm proofing applications, others provide window and door assemblies that are constructed to provide variable degrees of debris or projectile impact resistance. Unfortunately, such approaches are not without their respective drawbacks. For instance, storm proofing existing structures and/or the glass panel assemblies associated with windows and doors common thereto generally requires replacement of the entire window and door units as a whole. Such an approach requires consideration of building codes and building esthetics so as to maintain an unobtrusive presentation of the penetration resistant structures. Such an approach substantially increases new building construction and is generally cost prohibitive from a remodeling perspective.
Further, with respect to configuring existing structures to provide penetration resistance, the existing underlying structures associated with supporting the respective doors and windows are generally ill-suited to withstand the additional loading associated with replacement of such structures. That is, storm proof windows and doors are generally substantially heavier than traditional window and door frame assemblies. Such considerations are more problematic in multi-floored structures and/or structures having floor-to-ceiling window and/or door panels wherein the underlying structural framing is ill-suited to withstand the addition forces associated with penetration resistant window and door panels and the weight and forces customary thereto. Accordingly, a first aspect of the present invention is directed to providing projectile penetration resistance to existing window and/or door structures and particularly, the transparent portions thereof.
It is appreciated that providing penetration resistance to transparent structures as discussed above has applications beyond building structures. For instance, it should be appreciated that penetration resistance would be advantageous to many vehicle applications. For instance, it is commonly appreciated that security vehicles such as bank transport vehicles and/or armored vehicles and/or vehicles uniquely configured for police, security, and military applications must be uniquely configured to support penetration or bulletproofing. Personal vehicles are also occasionally equipped with such armaments but usually only at such great expense that only the extremely wealthy or otherwise potentially political and/or famous public figures can afford such protections.
Some considerations associated with any vehicle armament are generally related to the construction of the underlying vehicle such that vehicle armament must be communicated to vehicle manufacturers such that the resultant vehicle can be designed and constructed to withstand the additional loading associated with such armaments. Such considerations generally include vehicle door frame hinge assemblies, vehicle chassis considerations, suspension features, and engine and vehicle transmission requirements as known armaments substantially effect the underlying performance of such components due to their weight and customary considerations associated with their intended support relative to the underlying vehicle.
That is, providing original equipment manufacturer's (OEM's) vehicles in an armored configuration customarily requires consideration during the design and build of the underlying vehicle to be able to withstand and/or otherwise support the armaments associated therewith. Such considerations are not limited to the glass portions of the underlying vehicle but also relate to other vehicle panel assemblies which are not otherwise commonly configured to be projectile resistant. Although steel plating is a common approach for the non-transparent structures of the underlying vehicle portions, such an approach substantially increases the weight of the underlying vehicle and the considerations attentive thereto as discussed above. Accordingly, another aspect of the present invention is directed to providing opaque and/or transparent penetration resistance assemblies which do not unduly interfere with considerations associated with the formation of the underlying vehicle.
In addition to the weight considerations discussed above, another consideration is directed to the capability or desire of users positioned in respective armored or protective vehicles to be able to return fire or otherwise neutralize threats external to the vehicle. Commonly, vehicle armaments provide bidirectional penetration resistance wherein projectiles cannot pass through the projectile resistance treatments in either direction. Such considerations render customary penetration resistance configurations unsuitable for many applications wherein persons disposed within a vehicle may be better served by being able to return fire or otherwise defend themselves with respect to acts of aggression directed toward the persons contained in the underlying vehicle.
Still further consideration with respect to penetration resistance or bulletproofing assemblies relates to personal armaments such as chest, back, or body plating and/or apparel. Such assemblies are customarily configured to accommodate desired degrees of movement of the underlying wearer and commonly sacrifice penetration resistance in favor of the weight borne by the user as well as maintaining the desired degree of freedom of physical motion for the wearer. Such assemblies cannot be unduly cumbersome and such assemblies must provide dissipation of the projectile energy to a larger surface area of the wearer's body so as to prevent impact injuries rather than penetration injuries attentive thereto.
Although some such forms of personal physical armaments are provided in flexible garments associated with containing respective discrete penetration resistant panels, such assemblies commonly provide unprotected areas between the discrete panels which facilitate the flexible movement of the respective supporting garment associated therewith. As such, such assemblies present the opportunity for projectile penetrations for those areas that do not include or otherwise present the seam edges between discrete penetration resistant panels. Such panels are commonly provided in a conveniently replaceable configuration but are generally flat and cannot otherwise be contoured to the underlying anatomy associated with the wearer. Additionally, such personal physical armaments and/or apparel are generally heavy thereby limiting the duration with which a person can function while wearing such armaments and requires a degree of fitness uncommon to much of the populous including youth.
Therefore, there are needs for projectile penetration resistance assemblies that can be either transparent and/or opaque depending upon the intended application, are substantially lighter weight than known penetration resistance assemblies, can be supported and/or integrated into existing and/or original equipment manufacturers equipment, and do not unduly interfere with the desired range of motion or customary operation associated with the discrete features and/or pre-existing construction of the underlying structure or facility, vehicle, and/or anatomy of a wearer, and, depending upon the intended application, can provide bidirectional or unidirectional penetration resistance performance.